Bay Street Seen Opening On Weak Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open weak Thursday morning, tracking lower commodity prices and weakness in global markets amid lingering concerns about global economic slowdown.

Activity may remain stock specific with investors tracking quarterly earnings updates for direction.

In Canadian earnings news, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC) Thursday reported net income from continuing operations of $63.8 million or $0.36 per share for the second quarter, significantly higher than $1.6 million or $0.01 per share a year ago.

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) reported net earnings fof $1,463 million for the second quarter of this financial year, compared to $3,502 million in the year-ago quarter.

BCE (BCE.TO) reported second-quarter net earnings of $397 million, down 39.3% compared with net earnings of $654 million in the second quarter of the previous financial year.

Gildan Activewear Ltd. (GIL.TO) posted net earnings of $155.3 million in the second quarter of this fiscal, compared with $158.2 million a year ago.

Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO) reported net loss of $35 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared to net loss of $129 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

Canadian stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday as Fitch downgraded the U.S.' sovereign credit rating to AA+ from AAA, citing a "steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which tumbled to a low of 20,148.23 before noon, ended the day's session with a loss of 314.72 points or 1.53% at 20,218.21.

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session as investors fretted about mounting debt in the U.S. and awaited cues from Friday's U.S. jobs report, which will provide further information on the monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

European stocks are down in negative territoryon Thursday to touch three-week lows after Eurozone's Services PMI was finalized at a six-month low of 50.9 in July.

U.K. services growth cooled to a six-month low in July and German exports data disappointed, adding to concerns around slowing growth.

The Bank of England raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point in a three-way split vote on Thursday. Six member of the Monetary Policy Committee including Governor Andrew Bailey voted to lift the bank rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.13 or 0.16% at $79.36 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $3.30 or 0.17% at $1,971.70 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.197 or 0.84% at $23.675 an ounce.